


Care on the Centennial

by Lunarium



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday, Ferris Wheels, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Not Epilogue Compliant, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:42:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22964089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarium/pseuds/Lunarium
Summary: A very special ride on a very special day results in a moment of panic for Shiro, but there’s always someone to chase the shadows.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27
Collections: Shiro Birthday Exchange 2020





	Care on the Centennial

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThatScottishShipper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/gifts).



Free rides on the Centennial Wheel had been cancelled due to inclement weather on Valentine’s Day, but it had turned out in Keith and Shiro’s favor. Tickets for the Valentine’s Day special were good for the entire month, and the couple happened to be vacationing in Chicago for a good few more weeks, as they were visiting some of Shiro’s cousins from his mother’s side. And to their luck, early spring appeared to be approaching, so soon after that short blizzard.

“You can’t predict weather here,” Shiro’s cousin Kenji had warned them with a laugh after retelling Keith the dramatic tale of how Shiro’s mother had to be hoisted away from her military duties just to deliver her firstborn son. “Or maybe the city likes you, Takashi. It wants you to explore around.”

Shiro’s response was a big, goofy grin. 

“And best of all, it’s leap year!” Shiro told Keith brightly as they stood in the waiting line. “It’s a real birthday for me!”

Keith smiled up at his husband. The delay with their tickets did feel more special. They had spent the day earlier at the nearby Giordano’s reminiscing over the years and arguing if the famous Chicago deep dish pizza—now with a variation appropriate for Celiac sufferers—was any better than Shiro’s personal favorite mac and cheese (Kenji was offended that Shiro would prefer a microwavable bowl of mac over anything. Shiro’s mother and uncle’s family had conspired to tempt his heart away with an alternative to no avail.) 

A gorgeous sunset lit the famous Navy Pier Ferris wheel whose bearing was currently adorned with a heart-shaped light fixture that will light up as the city grew darker. Keith huddled closer against Shiro, making use of his massive size for want of body heat. Smiling to himself, he watched a procession of passersby: fellow tourists visiting the city, Chicago natives enjoying the lakeside view on this fine early evening, actors from the nearby Shakespeare Theater decked out in their costumes walking around the docks as they performed in character for the patrons around, all to attract more audience for the upcoming show.

“What are you grinning about?” Shiro asked some time later. “That guy makes a convincing Puck.”

Keith chuckled and shook his head. The line moved, and their turn on the wheel drew closer. “Wasn’t smiling over him. I was remembering. The day before the Kerberos mission, remember that?”

“Of course,” Shiro chuckled. “How could I not, when you insisted on us going? It would have been the only chance we had to celebrate my birthday that year.” 

It was their turn to board the wheel, and as they settled into their pod, Keith glanced around himself with a small smile. Last time, they hadn’t had a chance to go on the ferris wheel of the small carnival although Keith had wanted that to be their final stop as a way to end an already-memorable send-off for his best friend. It was another leap year, and the scheduled launch was just two days away. 

The crowd back then wasn't anything like the crowd here, as most had been Garrison families celebrating time together. Navy Pier was a mixed bag of families, friends, entire schools on field trips, lovers on dates, or single people lost in the crowd for a chance to be alone with their thoughts or possibly looking for a companion.

“We get to finally go on the ferris wheel,” Keith said as the wheel kicked into motion. Shiro chuckled next to him, his arm around him. 

“You were so upset that day,” he reminisced. 

Blushing, Keith bowed his head. “Just wanted everything to be perfect for you.” 

“I was with you. It was already perfect.” 

The rise in Keith’s pounding heart rate had nothing to do with their pod rising from the ground. Shiro’s smile could kill him point-blank even years after having known him. It was a silly thing to still get light-headed by Shiro’s words—they had been married for a couple years—but Keith still felt like that young Garrison student, a cadet who stood by Shiro after his last relationship had fallen apart—and still very much smitten with him. 

He gave Shiro a squeeze, burying his face in Shiro’s chest, and that was when he felt the muscles of Shiro’s back and shoulders taut. 

“Shiro? Everything okay?” Keith asked softly. Being accustomed to the signs of Shiro’s panic attacks, he didn’t move back but kept in his position in case Shiro needed the close proximity for comfort. 

“I…I…” Shiro struggled with his words.

“I’m here, Shiro. What do you see? What skyscraper is that?”

Shiro scoffed. “I’ll be fine, Keith, it’s just…I haven’t had this kind of attack in a long time.” 

Gently pulling himself away, Keith closely studied his husband. Shiro was staring out of their pod, shaken up and his eyebrows furrowed, looking both alarmed but also confused. 

“This is so stupid,” he laughed lightly. “We’ve been up in space, innumerable miles off the ground, and I'd be perfectly fine. But something about being up here…I feel…I dunno, like I’m…” Another sigh. “This must be a memory I haven’t uncovered yet from that year. Maybe I was held off the ground by one of the witch’s creatures while I was being tortured.”

Keith nodded. “Whatever had happened, this reminds you of feeling trapped and unable to control your surroundings. It’s different when you’re controlling your Lion or on the Atlas.” 

“You’re right,” Shiro said and sighed heavily. “I know you’re right, my _brain_ understands you’re right, but my _mind’s_ still…”

“Minds are like that,” Keith said gently. He reached out and grasped Shiro’s hands in his. Silence fell between them as he held Shiro, letting him know he was near. The ferris wheel turned slowly, and Shiro peered out, the chilly late winter wind caressing their cheeks and the rosy tips of their noses. Together they watched as the sun seeped below the horizon of Lake Michigan, its rays dazzling the chilly lake in arrays of gold and silver. Shivering, Shiro pulled Keith closer, and Keith obliged, huddling in his body heat once more. 

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said after a while. “I’m ruining the day.”

“It’s your birthday, Shiro,” Keith reminded him. “Your day. Your party. You can cry if you want to.” 

Shiro chuckled. “You’re taking that song to heart.”

“These things will take time,” Keith said, and a poignant understanding passed between them, as Keith himself had left the war with a few scars of his own. “I’m just…so happy you’re here.” 

Fighting back the tears, Keith blurted out the last few words before the hitch in his voice betrayed him. He buried his face in Shiro’s chest again, remembering the last carnival, two days before the launch—how younger him had cherished the moment, keenly aware of it possibly being the last time he could ever be with Shiro. 

It had been eight years ago…

“Keith, you can’t imagine how grateful I am you are here with me,” Shiro said, and cupping Keith’s cheek in his large hand, Shiro lifted up Keith’s head and kissed him as their pod reached the highest point among in the early twilight of the bustling city. Sounds of the dwindling crowd and gentle waves of the great lake below surrounded them, and light of downtown and the ferris wheel lit like starlight all around. 

Keith smiled into the kiss. “Happy Birthday, Shiro.”

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to have Shiro and Keith vacation at Chicago at last <3 The Centennial Wheel can be found at Navy Pier, and they do offer free rides on occasion. 
> 
> I usually feature Shiro's dad and/or father's side of the family, so it was nice to briefly show the mother's side here. <3


End file.
